


Jump Scare

by evaagna



Series: Rogue One - Modern Earth AU [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Scary Movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 15:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12510032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evaagna/pseuds/evaagna
Summary: There’s a sharp intake of breath beside him and the shoulder crammed against his own tenses. Cassian glances over, raising a brow as if to ask,Everything alright?Bodhi catches his look and gives him an apologetic smile, looking mildly embarrassed. He shrugs, as if to say it’s nothing, and turns back to the movie.But then it keeps happening.





	Jump Scare

**Author's Note:**

> For the SniperPilotHalloween2017 Day 8 Prompt: Sorry
> 
> I used the first prompt and wasn't really all that creative about it (sort of half-assed it, let's be real), but I'm super super sick so too bad.

Cassian really isn’t sure how he let Jyn talk him into this. 

Okay, no-- He knows exactly how he let Jyn talk him into this. She’d use a combination of guilt-tripping and bribery with the promise that there would be plenty of beer and popcorn to go around - but _still_. He doesn’t even like scary movies. They’re just… _not scary_ , is the thing. More boring than anything. 

But scary movie night is a tradition, apparently. When he texted back and tried to ask, _A tradition for what, since when?_ he’d been completely shot down with a hasty, _For Halloween, you idiot_ , and _Since NOW_. Jyn’s indignation was palpable even through text. She already told everyone he was coming - which, why, when she hadn’t even asked yet? - and, besides, it’s going to be _fun_. 

He should have come up with an excuse. He had _days_ to come up with something.

Now, he sighs as he knocks on the door. After a moment, no one answers, but he can hear people talking and laughing inside, so he tries the handle. It’s unlocked, so he lets himself in with a casual, “Hey, Jyn!” 

After a moment, Jyn pops her head out of the kitchen. “Cassian!” she calls, waving him over, “C’mere,” She greets him with a one-armed hug when he steps into the kitchen, the other hand occupied by what may be the single largest bowl of popcorn Cassian has ever seen. “I wasn’t sure you would come!” she complains, though there’s no heat behind it.

Cassian shrugs. “I said I would, didn’t I?” 

Jyn laughs, but nearly drops the bowl in the process. She scowls at it, glances to Cassian, and then unceremoniously foists it off on him. “Here, put this in the living room, will you?” He rolls his eyes, but accepts it with a mock salute and turns to do as instructed even as she chimes a bright, “Thank you!” behind him, already moving on to whatever else she was working on.

 _Everyone_ , he discovers, turns out to be more people than he’d expected, so if he has to suffer through some lame horror movie, at least he’ll be in good company. He passes a sheepish looking Kes on his way back out into the living room. Kes is holding two beers, but he gestures to one, explaining that he’s going to see if Jyn has any juice or something around for Shara.

Cassian frowns in confusion for a moment, until-- Ah. Right. Of course. He glances over to where Shara is standing by the table talking with Leia. She seems rather put-out and, by the looks of it, Leia sympathizes fully. It’s clearly a _men_ conversation, complete with eye rolling, if Cassian has ever seen one. It’s probably well deserved, so he steers clear. 

He sets the enormous bowl down on the coffee table. As he turns to head back to the kitchen to see what else Jyn needs help with, he sees Luke across the room, chatting with someone Cassian doesn’t know. It catches his attention because, well, he knows everyone else here.

The man looks vaguely familiar, though Cassian can’t remember from where. More importantly, he’s cute. _Really_ cute, with his big eyes and his long, dark hair tied up in a messily braided ponytail. He looks just a touch uncomfortable, too - out of place. It’s something about the way he holds his beer close to his chest with both hands, but it doesn’t show on his face. He’s laughing at something Luke just said, eyes crinkled and head tipping back just slightly to expose the long curve of his neck.

Cassian swallows. 

This is not how he saw tonight going. 

Just then, Luke notices him. “Cassian! Hey! Good to see you!” 

Cassian moves towards them, feeling decidedly caught. Not that he was staring. Definitely not. He just hopes the flush on his face isn’t as noticeable as it feels. “Hey, Luke.”

He puts his hand at his cute friend’s elbow, gesturing to introduce him. “This is--” They hear the door closing - someone else arriving - and Luke stops mid-sentences, eyes trained on whoever it is. “Hold on; one sec…” he trails off, and abruptly ditches them both in a rush to greet the newcomer. Cassian glances back and-- It’s Han. Well, that explains _that_. 

“Luke, don’t--” cute ponytail guy starts, but Luke is already gone. He sighs and shakes his head. “He always does this; he thinks he’s so subtle, like everyone _but_ Han doesn’t know about his crush...” His eyes follow Luke over to where he’s very eagerly greeting Han, but then flash back to Cassian’s. “Sorry, where are my manners,” He grins at Cassian and extends a hand. “Bodhi,” he introduces. It’s a very lovely hand, some traitorous part of Cassian’s mind unhelpfully supplies, even as he takes it. 

He’s really going to have to get a hold of himself here. “Cassian,” he mimics, offering a smile in return and thankfully not missing a beat. 

Bodhi explains that he’s Luke’s roommate and a friend of Jyn’s, too. He starts to ask Cassian something, but before they have time to get far, Jyn announces that she’s starting the movie now, so everyone had better get excited. 

The thing is, the movie isn’t even that scary; it’s just a bunch of poorly timed jump-scares and bad acting. Cassian knows this going in. He’s seen it before, regrettably, but he doesn’t even make a single complaint as they all settle down to get it started. 

Jyn pops in the dvd and moves to squeeze into the the big comfy chair to the side with Leia, even though it isn’t really quite big enough for two. Everyone else is spread out in the rest of the room, Shara and Kes taking one end of the couch, a few others taking spots on the floor. Somehow Cassian ends up squished against the other end of the couch with cute ponytail guy - Bodhi - on his one side. The man wiggles a little next to him, trying to get comfortable in the too-small space, and then turns to him and beams.

Cassian barely manages to return even a little smile, before he’s turning back to the screen. He really should have thought this through better. He’s completely and totally screwed, isn’t he? Maybe he needs another beer. 

But it’s too late; the lights are dimmed and the movie is starting. He would have to step over at least two people and cause a big interruption to get up. He sinks back into the cushion and tries to focus on the screen instead of on the man next to him.

It’s fine. He can make it through one stupid movie without doing something to totally embarrass himself. Probably. 

Fortunately, it quickly becomes clear that he’s not the only one who isn’t taking the movie very seriously; everyone laughs and throws in commentary here and there, popcorn occasionally flying across the room in aimed trajectories. It helps, a little, that everyone is so casual around each other. Everyone except Bodhi, that it is, who’s sitting unusually still now by Cassian’s side. He sighs and focuses on trying to remember when each jump scare is about to happen. 

When the first one is is coming up, Cassian relaxes back into the couch and subconsciously prepares to roll his eyes. But then there’s a sharp intake of breath beside him and the shoulder crammed against his own tenses. He glances over, raising a brow as if to ask, _Everything alright?_

Bodhi catches his look and gives him an apologetic smile, looking mildly embarrassed. He shrugs, as if to say it’s nothing, and turns back to the movie.

But then it keeps happening. 

The next time something pops out suddenly, Bodhi flinches beside him again, this time letting out what Cassian can only describe as a squeak. He has to bite his lip to hold back a chuckle. Not that he wants to laugh at the poor guy’s expense, but it’s really rather endearing. Incredibly attractive _and_ adorable, apparently. 

He doesn’t chance a peek over this time. No one else seemed to notice, so the least he can do is save the guy a little dignity. 

But the next time, Cassian can’t so easily pretend to ignore his reaction. On the screen, a monster drops from the ceiling, right in front of the shrieking character. Bodhi’s one hand flies up to grab Cassian’s bicep, the other taking a white-knuckle grip on the front of his own t-shirt. 

Cassian glances over again and finds that Bodhi’s eyes are squeezed shut, face twisted into something mildly painful looking. He hesitates for a moment, unsure if he should do something to help or not. The guy is obviously scared, so it seems a little mean to just ignore it. He reaches over and pats a hand on his knee.

Bodhi starts at the contact, but then cracks one eye open, as if checking to see if the coast is clear. When he sees Cassian, he immediately blushes and pulls his hand away. This time, the smile that he tries to offer is more of a grimace than anything else. _Sorry,_ he mouths. 

After a moment, Cassian nudges his knee again, palm up, silently offering. Bodhi looks at it, glances up to him, bites his lip, looks back down at his hand. He’s clearly embarrassed by the whole thing, but it’s dark; it’s not like anyone is going to see. He slowly slides his hand into Cassian’s and leans closer. 

Cassian squeezes it reassuringly and then makes a point of relaxing back into the couch, like it’s no big deal. Bodhi spends the rest of the movie leaning into his side, clutching his hand, and ducking to hide his face in his shoulder every time something remotely scary happens. Cassian doesn’t mind at all. 

When it’s over, Jyn hops up to turn the lights back up and, the moment she does, Bodhi snatches his hand back. Cassian is...well, a little disappointed honestly, but then the lean man jumps up and stretches, no doubt stiff after having spent so long squished and tense, and the sight of it just about makes up for it.

Cassian, and everyone else for that matter, follows suit. The atmosphere in the room is amiable and warm, everyone chatting and laughing, poking fun at one another for getting scared at certain parts. Cassian opens his mouth to ask what Bodhi thought, already knowing the answer, more or less. 

But before he can get a word out, Bodhi whirls on him and starts spilling out apologies. “Sorry! I am _so_ sorry!” he rushes to say, looking embarrassed and just a hair desperate. 

Cassian laughs fondly. “No, it’s fine, really,”

“It’s not, though!” Bodhi insists, “I don’t even know you, and here I am making it weird! It’s just...I don’t, ah, I don’t really like scary movies, is the thing…” he explains sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and purposefully not meeting Cassian’s eyes. 

_Really? I couldn’t have guessed,_ Cassian raises a skeptical brow. “Why’d you come then?” Immediately, he realizes how that sounds and quickly backtracks, “I mean, I’m glad you did, but that was kind of the whole point-- Or, did nobody tell you?”

Bodhi grimaces. “No, no, I knew, I just…” he trails off, then sighs, “Luke invited me, and I couldn’t think of an excuse quick enough, but I figured it couldn’t be that bad, right?” The last part teeters off with a nervous laugh.

Cassian shrugs. “Could’ve been worse.”

“Ha! That it could have been,” he agrees awkwardly, “Yeah, but I really, really am sorry for getting all--” He makes a vague gesture. “ _Clingy_ and stuff,” His lips twists into a self-berating frown. “I really am not good with first impressions, am I?”

Cassian takes a deep breath, holds it, then thinks, _fuck it_ and just goes for it. If he embarasses himself-- Well, he won’t be the only one tonight, anyway. “I, ah, I thought it was pretty cute, actually,” 

Bodhi opens his mouth to say something - probably apologize again - then lets it hang there for a long moment. Snaps it shut. Frowns. “Oh. Oh,” Cassian gets ready to backtrack again, but then Bodhi’s eyes go wide like he’s honestly surprised and he continues, “Really?” The bashful look Cassian gives him leaves him floundering for another moment, but then he pauses, licks his lip, hovers somewhere between shy and hopeful. “In that case-- Maybe I could...get your number?”

Cassian feels the smile bloom across his face as he fumbles for his phone. “That depends; will you get a drink with me, sometime?” It comes out sounding super smooth, and he mentally high-fives himself, even if he’s really not sure how he managed it. 

Bodhi’s answering smile is bright and genuine. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Also, I've been looking for a beta for a while, so if anyone is remotely interested, message me on [tumblr](http://ev-a-fics.tumblr.com) or something?


End file.
